Crusaders vs Western Force Predictions - Crusaders to win big in Super Rugby

Simon Lewis

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Last updated: 4 hours ago

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Simon Lewis 4 hours ago

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Crusaders are predicted favorites, expected to win easily.
Crusaders have won 6 out of their last 7 games against Western Force.
Western Force lost their last 2 games, conceding 28+ points.

Crusaders backed to win (Getty Images)

Crusaders vs Western Force Predictions

The Crusaders are huge favourites and their attacking threat could do serious damage to a Western Force defence that looks very suspect. I expect the hosts to run away with this game, covering the -24.5 handicap.

Crusaders vs Western Force Predictions
Head to Head
Crusaders Form
Crusaders Injuries & Team News
Western Force Form
Western Force Injuries & Team News

Crusaders have won 2 of their last 3 matches.
Crusaders have won 6 of their last 7 matches against the Western Force.
Western Force have lost their last 2 matches.
Western Force have conceded 28+ points in their last 4 matches.

Head to Head

The Crusaders have won six of their last seven games against the Western Force. However, when they met last season, the Force came out 37-15 victors.

Crusaders Form

The Crusaders have already won as many games as they did all season in 2024 with two wins from their opening three fixtures.

On the opening weekend, the Saders’ beat the Hurricanes 33-25 at home before going down 49-24 at the Chiefs in round two. The Christchurch-based outfit enjoyed a bye in round three.

That rest did the Crusaders good as they came out last weekend and thrashed the in-form Reds 43-19 on home soil.

Crusaders Injuries & Team News

15 Will Jordan, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Braydon Ennor, 12 David Havili (captain), 11 Macca Springer, 10 Taha Kemara, 9 Kyle Preston, 8 Christian Lio-Willie, 7 Tom Christie, 6 Corey Kellow, 5 Antonio Shalfoon, 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams.

Replacements: 16 Ioane Moananu, 17 George Bower, 18 Seb Calder, 19 Tahlor Cahill, 20 Ethan Blackadder, 21 Mitchell Drummond, 22 James O’Connor, 23 Levi Aumua.

Western Force Form

The Western Force have made a very solid start to their season with two wins from four. They won their opening two games but have lost the subsequent two.

The opening two rounds saw two thrilling high-scoring wins as the Force beat Moana 45-44 at home before upsetting the odds in Canberra, beating the Brumbies 45-42. That was followed by a narrow 28-24 loss at home to the Reds.

Last weekend the Force were properly outplayed by the Waratahs in Sydney. The Tahs’ went on to win 34-10.

Western Force Injuries & Team News

15 Mac Grealy, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Sio Tomkinson, 12 Reesjan Pasitoa, 11 George Poolman, 10 Max Bury, 9 Isaak Fines-Leleiwasa, 8 Reed Prinsep, 7 Kane Koteka, 6 Will Harris, 5 Darcy Swain, 4 Jeremy Williams (captain), 3 Tom Robertson, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Marley Pearce.

Replacements: 16 Ryan Coxon, 17 Nic Dolly, 18 Atu Moli, 19 Sam Carter, 20 Josh Thompson, 21 Henry Robertson, 22 Coby Miln, 23 Divad Palu.